In government and commercial systems, it is desirable for interface boards and other such components to be reliable and exhibit a high Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF). Stated another way, it is desirable for interface boards to have a “high availability”—i.e., to be functional and operable within their intended applications.
Furthermore, interface boards must typically conform to one or more standards and/or specifications. These guidelines not only specify the size and shape (i.e., “form factor”) of the board for a particular cabinet or other enclosure, but also set forth power requirements, communication protocols, safety standards, and the like. In this regard, it is often the case that boards developed in accordance with one standard cannot later be used in applications conforming to subsequent standards. Conversely, a board developed according to a later standard may not be backward-compatible with prior cabinets and systems. The need to constantly update boards in order to adhere to changing standards gives rise to significant costs.
Furthermore, the components included on such boards (and/or the software incorporated into those components) may require extensive testing and/or must conform to strict design rules in order to meet applicable safety standards. As a result, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), integrators, and resellers have increasingly turned to designing and building cost-effective solutions using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components. Such COTS components (or collections of components) are typically less expensive than equivalent custom-built components; however, since COTS components are typically integrated with non-COTS components on the same board, the cost-savings associated with using COTS components is significantly reduced because the entire system (i.e., the board itself) must still be tested to the higher level of certification.
Accordingly, it is desirable to develop systems and methods for interface cards that exhibit a high availability and high MTBF while allowing board components to be backward-compatible with legacy systems.